Basic Beet Piler Design and its Application to Construction - ASSBT ...

PROCEEDINGS—EIGHTH GENERAL MEETING 351
The screening of beets was further improved by the use of the reverse
screen rolls strategically located in the screen unit. By the use of reverse
rolls at the proper points in the screen and by providing screens of ample
width and area so that the beets could spread out and allow the dirt and
trash to come in contact with the screen rolls, better and greater dirt and
trash separation has been obtained.
While the use of rubber screen elements is very effective in dirt and
trash removal, in some districts there has been a tendency for the reverse
rolls to pull small beets through the screen along with the leaves and trash.
This problem seems to have been more pronuounced in certain areas where
mechanical thinning and closer spacing of beets prevail, consequently, with
the increase of spring mechanization, a problem has developed which must
be solved. To accomplish a reduction of beet loss a proper relationship
in speeds between rolls running in the forward direction and the rolls
running in the reverse direction was made. Thick-fingered rubber screen
elements and a combination of steel and rubber screen kickers were also
used on the reverse rolls. All of these have brought about an improvement
in the beet screen unit and tended toward a solution of this particular
problem.
Another desirable change introduced on pilers during the past two
years consists of adding an independent motor for driving the screen unit.
This enables the screen to be driven separately from the incline conveyor,
thus providing a feature which was not. available with the former driving
method. In the single unit pilers of the 1953 model an independent motor
drive was used for the auxiliary dirt belt, which made possible the automatic
stopping of the auxiliary dirt belt beneath the screen when the main
dirt belt was discharging into the grower's truck. Thus, the dirt from a
following load would not become intermingled in any way with that of a
preceeding load.
Improved Condition of Beet Piles
In the design of beet pilers, much thought was given to features which
would improve the condition of beet piles, to avoid losses occasioned by
beet spoilage while in storage. In addition to providing the best possible
screening and trash removal, other factors such as the proper length of the
piling boom, depth of beet pile, distribution of beets across the face of
the pile, etc., all have a bearing on how well the beets will keep during
the storage period.
The piling boom lengths vary from 50 to 60 feet according to the type
of piler furnished. With the 48-inch double unit, double platform pilers
the boom can be somewhat shorter than that of the single unit-type pilers.
On the 1953 model, single unit machine, with double platforms, a 55-foot
boom length was found to be the most desirable. The width of the pile at
the base is approximately 134 feet to 140 feet, and the depth of the pile
about 22 feet. All piling boom conveyors are motor driven from the head
shafts, as it has been found that this location of drive gives the best belt
operation.
For many years the piler booms on Ogden Iron Works Company pilers
have been motorized for swing, and for the past ten or twelve years, auto-